Uttarakhand: The government is determined to cancel Kanwar Yatra for the second consecutive year in view of the Covid 19 pandemic. A final judgment in this regard was taken during a meeting at the state secretariat in Dehradun on Tuesday. A two-week annual pilgrimage for devotees of Lord Shiva, the Kanwar Yatra is scheduled to start on July 25 this year. As part of the pilgrimage, devotees will progress to Haridwar in Uttarakhand and other parts of the country to bring holy water from the river Ganga.
The pilgrimage will take place at the beginning of the month of Shravan as per the Hindu calendar and will continue till the first week of August. ‘We have discussed with senior officials and with officials from neighboring states and decided that we will not hold Kanwar Yatra at this time. A variant has been found in Gadarpur so we don’t want to make Haridwar the centre of Covid,’ Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Dhami told.
During the meeting on Tuesday, officials informed Chief Minister Dhami about the possibility of a third wave and the virulence of the Delta Plus variant. The state government also sought the opinion of experts before taking a decision on this year Kanwar Yatra. Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Dr. S.S.Sandhu, Additional Chief Secretary Anandvardhan and Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Kumar were among the senior officials who participated in the discussion.
‘Kanwar is a part of Sanatan culture, but saving lives is paramount. The government’s focus is to ensure that covid does not spread,’ Chief Minister Dhami had said while addressing BJP workers on Tuesday. Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat had adjourned Kanwar Yatra in June this year. Rawat was soon replaced by Pushkar Singh Dhami. CM Dhami had earlier told that a final decision on the Kanwar Yatra would be taken after discussion with other state governments in this regard. The Indian Medical Association had also written to CM Dhami asking him not to allow the Kanwar Yatra as there was a threat of a third wave of Covid-19 infections.
Merchants from Haridwar had demanded the resumption of the Kanwar Yatra, alleging that the cancellation of the pilgrimage due to the lockdown last year had resulted in heavy losses. These traders, whose livelihood depends almost entirely on the annual pilgrimages like the Kanwar Yatra, had demanded an assurance from the Uttarakhand government that the pilgrimage would be held this year unlike 2020.
Read more: Grand Slam champion Roger Federer withdraws from Tokyo Olympics
The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to go ahead with the Kanwar Yatra despite the threat from Covid-19. On Tuesday, CM Yogi Adityanath directed its ‘Team 9’ to ensure compliance with Covid norms during the Kanwar Yatra. The pilgrimage must be allowed keeping in mind expert estimates on the spread of Covid-19, he added. Negative RT -PCR reports are obtained from devotees who enter Uttar Pradesh from other states to participate in the Kanwar Yatra, said CM Adityanath. The UP chief minister also directed officials to Kanwar Sanghs to ensure the participation of a minimum number of people in the yatra.
Post Your Comments